Autopsy report shows pneumonia, degenerative brain disease

When Cullen Finnerty, a quarterback who won three NCAA Division II football championships, was found dead in the Michigan wilderness in May, a contributing factor was the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) found in several football players, his autopsy revealed Thursday.

Officials at the school at which Finnerty played later acknowledged one concussion in his career, in which he did not immediately come out of the game.

Finnerty’s body was found May 28 after he had been missing for two days. A missing-persons notice posted the day after he had disappeared read, in part: “Finnerty was having what his family described as an episode and say he was scared and wandered into the woods ... His family says he suffered several concussions in his career and are concerned that it may (have) triggered this episode.”

Finnerty, 30, led Grand Valley State to national titles in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He spent part of the 2007 season with the Baltimore Ravens and was briefly on the Denver Broncos’ roster in the 2008 offseason. He also played professionally in Austria and in one minor-league indoor game in 2009.

According to the autopsy released by the Lake County (Mich.) sheriff’s department Tuesday, as reported by the New York Times: "A likely sequence of events on the night of death includes anxiety, disorientation, and paranoia from being alone in the woods when he was not met as expected after fishing. These emotions could have been exacerbated by an elevated oxycodone level combined with CTE.’’

The direct cause of death, the autopsy said, was pneumonia brought on by his becoming incapacitated and inhaling his vomit. The CTE was discovered by Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which has found the disease in, among others, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, NFL stars who committed suicide.

Finnerty reportedly had been taking oxycodone because of severe back pain.

Grand Valley State officials released a statement Thursday to the Grand Rapids Press, saying that Finnerty had suffered a concussion “only one time” during his four years playing there. The injury, in an October game during his freshman season of 2003, “was determined to be mild. He was removed from the game shortly after halftime and did not play again that day. He was thoroughly checked by doctors and was later cleared for play in a subsequent game.’’

The Press reported that he suffered the concussion in the first half, but stayed in the game and later scored a touchdown before being removed. He was quoted in the paper as saying afterward: "I fooled everyone to allow me to stay in the game.’’

Game logs listed on the team’s website show that Finnerty never missed a game, playing 55 in a row.

School officials planned to meet Thursday to discuss its concussion protocol, the Press reported.